Radiant-heat steam boiler and setting



April 17, 1928.

(.7. G. HAWLEY RADIANT HEAT STEAM BOILER AND SETTING Filed March 15, 1924 Patented" Apr. 1 7, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RADIANT-HEAT STEAM BOILER AND SETTING.

Application filed March-1'5, 1924. Serial No. 699,595.

This invention relates to steam boilers and their furnaces, and more particularly to that type of boiler in which due regard is given to proper relationship andproportions between the fire and the heat absorbing surfaces provided by the various watch-containing elements that make up the boiler orpressure vessel as a Whole, to the end that maximum efficiency and capacity may be secured in a steam boiler of minimumsize and cost. These results are obtained by the provision of a minor extent of heat absorbing circulating elements so proportioned and disposed as to'subdivide and take ad- 5 vantage of the radiant heat of the flames of a long flaming fire and permit such flames without material suppression to rise tosubstantially full or natural maturity and develop the maximum radiant heat effect; and, by providing. in.'ci1'culatory relation therewith a major. extent of heat absorbing elements so positioned and proportioned as to be capable of economically absorbing or accepting the remainder of valuable heat from.

the residual gases leaving the fire chamber.

A number of forms of boiler for producing the effects thus briefly described are shown and described in my prior patent'for steam boilers, No. 1,486,888, granted March 18, 1924, to which reference may be had for a more complete description and discussion if necessary. For the purposes of this ap-' .plication it is suflicient to say that the re-,

sults of the" invention may be btained in as practically any form or type 0 boiler, so

long as its heat-absorbing circulating elements are properly proportioned and positioned with reference to the fire and flames.

The present application has particular relation to a radiant heat boiler of single story form, in which the heat absorbingcirculating tubes of major extent for absorbing the convected heat are placed behind the combustion chamber in which the radiant heat is 'most efiiciently developed and transmitted to the -heat absorbing circulating elements of minor extent that occupy that chamber. Also the boiler. as will become apparent, .is ideally adapted for eflicient firing; and, for both low and high pressures. The arrangement of theradiant and'convected heat absorbing tubes is extremely convenient for erection, renewal and repair purposes and for insertion, removal, and repair of arches and baflle walls; and, also provides convenient space for the superheater elements, where such are used. In addi;

tion. the various elements of the boiler are so disposed and arranged as to provide for the most rapid ring-flow or circulation of the boiler. water and the quiet disengagement of the steam; all within a minimum space and with maximum steaming capacity and maximum boiler and furnace efliciency with relation tothe number, weight an cost of the boiler elements utilized.

Briefly the invention consists in a steam generatorvof the type comprising a radiant heat section of minor extent and a convectcd heat section of major extent, in which the tubes within the said sections-are arranged substantially vertically and parallel one to another. And the invention further consists in a steam generator of the type defined in the previous paragraph, characterized by the restriction of the heating area exposed to the radiant heat of the fire and the corresponding restriction of flow ofboiler water upon such surfaces resultingin the high velocity acceleration of such flow, and further characterized by a convected heat absorbing section of the ring ad uatetothe abstraction of the residual heat 0 the gases and of such water capacity as to restrict the downward flow of water to a velocity that is insuflicient to entrain steam developed in that section.

. The invention will be more readily understood upon reference to the drawings that form part of this specification; wherein,

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a radiant heat steam boiler embodying this invention, the longitudinal direction be-.

' ing from front to back of the boiler. Fig.

2 is a vertical transverse section, or more accurately, a front clevatlon of the pressure vessel, the front wall of the'boiler setting being removed to fully disclose the same- The parts, A. B, G, and D, are steam and water drums, all of about the same length. In practice these have the usual manholes in their ends and are otherwise'of ordinary steam drum construction; and the whole construction is such as to provide advantageous positions for all of the riveted longitudinal seams of the drums, as will at once be apparent.

The parts E, are water tubes which join the drums A and B. The parts F are water,

tubes'that join the drums B and C. The

parts G are inter tubes that join the drums c and A. The ring-like circulation of the water is indicated by the arrows R, R. The parts at are short water tubes preferably used to directly join the drums B and D. The parts d" are two tubes that join the lower part of the druinD to the lower part of the drum 0, for preservin a proper indicative water level in the drum D. The parts d are two rows of steam interchange tubes that join the tops of the drums G and'D.

The port C is the feedwatcr inlet of'the boiler. The parts C and D are the steam outlets of the drums C and D. The outlet C is usually closed. The part D is the 1 ing portion (the major part) of this boiler waterlevel gage of the boiler. The part A is the blow-oft connection.

The parts thus far designated constitute the pressurevessel or boiler proper.

X and'X are the side walls of the boiler setting. X" is the front wall thereof. The covering Z makes up the back and roof of the setting; which setting is completed by the low walls Z and 'X". The boiler is set upon or is suspended from a metal frame (not shown) of any suitable design.

The part Y is the single mid-partition or baflie used in the preferred form of the present invention, it reaches from the drum A nearly to the top drums, leaving the main pass or opening 4 beneath them. An open space may enclose the drum B as indicated by' the preferably open passages 3' and 4'.

The front of the boiler setting contains the fire chamber 2, of any suitable sort, and the tall combustion chamber 3; while the back of the setting contains the passage 5,

the latter in the instant case extending downward to the dampered gas outlet 5* that leads to the stack. a i

For sake of clearness a considerable space 5 is shown among the tubes G, for the free reception of the superheater elements S. This need not be a large space. in practice, the tubes Gwill be more closely spaced than shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a better showingthereof in this regard. The tubes G constitute the convected heat absorband are closely spaced and of large number,

although not so extensive as in other water tube boilers; which last do not'partake of the advantage of bothdeveloping and absorbing the greater part of the heat of the fuel in' radiant form, as about to be described. and previously made familiar by aforesaid patent.

The tubes E are widely spaced, preferably in both directions, and necessarily in the transverse direction. The latter relation and dimension is well shown in Fig. 2 from which it will seen that the several sets of I tubes E are separated by transverse spaces of such width that the flame from the fire chamber, though many times subdivided thereby and thus increased in rajdiant area,

Generally 1 much improvement by-this invention.

nevertheless have ample space within which to continue propagation and persist quite to the top of the combustion chamber. This is accomplished without material suppression of the flames; and though comparatively few in number, the tubes E present to the greatly increased radiant/surface of the flames an aggregate area that is adequate to the absorption of substantially all of the radiant heat of the fire; one-half and moreofall of the heat of the fuel burned. V The refractory mid-wall Y and the other brick walls of the chamber 3 obviouslybenefi cially affect the flame and as the water filled tubes E are too remote to directly chill or depress the flames (save by acceptin the,

heat therefrom as fast as developed ra iantly) the combustion from the fuel chamber is permitted to proceed substantially to' full need not enter the discussion at this point for the reason that the small quantity of gas that actuallycontacts those tubes and is momentarily cooled, is quickly swe t back into the upward rushing streams oi flame and being again raised to the ignition point is therein fully combusted. 7

Clearly the acceptance of so much of the heat in the forward part of the boiler lessens the duty to be performed by the convected heat absorbing portion of the boiler. The maturity of combustion in the tall chamber-B 1s practically marked by the presence of the opening or pass 4. Be ond that point the. hot non-luminous gases end their heat to the closely spaced water tubes G, by contact or convection. The downward movement of the gases is favorable to this operation and thetubes G are of sufficient number and aggregate area "to absorb such residual heat. Thus the gases finally leave the dampered outlet 5 at a temperature little higher. than that of the fluid contents of the holler.

Instead of being inclined the boiler may ,occupy atruly vertical position without modifying i? operation. .It is here shown inclined toi lu'strate its resemblance to, and to include the modification of other drumand-water tube boilers. such as the Sterling. Ladd, Erie, Connolly, Badenhausen and Kidwell boilers; all of which are susceptible; to

a riations of inclination necessitate slight rearrangements of the top drums, but otherwise, such changes appear tobe unimportant.

By reference the drum B is positioned to 'be ii'lled' with'water and it may be con veniently reduced to a diameter no greater the drum C.

than necessary for the reception of the tubes E and F. Likewise it is not "essential that the drum D'be employed.

The dotted lines F of Fig. 2 show that the curved tubes F are'used in such number as to aitord an entirely free discharge for the circulating water from the drum B into A particular feature of this invention lies in the following. The greatest. evaporation per square foot of surface takes place in the tubes E and upon the bottom of the drmn B; hence the boiler water attains very high upward velocity in the radiant heatabsorbing section of the boiler. a

great volume of water and steam passing upward therethrough at any given instant. But the water which thus rushes upward at the front of the boiler finds greatly enlarged passages for its reception at the back of the boiler and descends therein at a much reduced speed. Thus the tubes F in the aggregate are of large capacity. and there seems 'to be no limit to the freedom and speed at which'steam and water may dis.- charge therefrom into the drum C: and. the area of the main convectcd heat tubes G is so much greater, that the water descends therethrough at a velocity so diminished that the down flow of water does not prevent the steam developed therein from rising directly into the drum C. In brief, a high speed water circuit or ring is established within small compass and with circulation velocities adequate to the clearing of all surfaces but so distributed as to avoid adverse cntrainment ofthe steam developed inthe convection section of the boiler.

The forwardmost longitudinal row of tubes G, as here-shown, assists in holding the battle Y. At least in part that row of tubes is marked by an upflow of water.

It seems unnecessary to illustrate other forms of this boiler which embrace another bank of convected heat absorbing tubes and y a stack outlet or dampered opening at the top of the boiler setting. It also seems unnecessary to illustrate that form of the in vention generally known as of the 'A-type,

comprising two of the illustrated pressure vessels leaning toward one another at the top and having either two drums B, or a unified drum B.

Novelty attaches to ,the drum D as here associated with the other drums of the boiler.

Being in direct connection with the submerged drum B, it constitutes virtually a gage or telltale uponthe rate at which the boiler is working, as well as a means of gaging the proper water level in the boiler. as

through the medium of the associated water glass D radiant heat absorbing section increases with the rate of evaporation and at the higher rate the water will rise higher in the drum D than at the lower rate; Automatically Theupward rush of'water in the v the drum D drains constantly into the downgoing drum C through the relatively restricted pipes d. Variations inthe rapid-' ity with whichsteamescapes from the drum B directly intothe drum'D are thus con: trolled and though thus indicated do not so disturb the water level in the drum D as to cause violent fluctuations in the gage D Obviously the many steam connections, ll (closely spaced tubes) ensure a free interchange and pressure balance betweenthe steam spaces of the drums C 'and D. 'Final- Y ly, the drum C, as here shown, is so related to its tubes G'and so freely infcommu-nication with-the drum B as to bealways filled with waterto a level above the ends of all the tubes G, notwithstanding the fact that 7 when theboiler is inoperation the water level in the drum D is always much higher than in the drum C. i

In contradistinction to the previous state ment that the steam outlet C of the drum C is usually closed and the steam taken from the drum B, it should be understood that where bad water must be used or otherstate brings about a jumpy condition in the drum- Any suitable firing means may be employed;

and as a whole the boiler occupies compara-' tively little floor space.

Having thus described my inventlon, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 7 Patent 1. A steam boiler of the water tube type comprising 'a submerged head drum, in combination'with a stean'i-and-water drum thereabove' and in free water and steam communication therewith but remote in the direction of gas -flow, a rate gaging drum above and in copious water connectionwith the top of said submerged drum and having its lower part in more restricted water com- .munication with the lower part of said steam-and-wiiter drum.

2. The herein described upright ring type -water tube steam boiler,'comprising a bottom drum, in combination with two'parallel top drums, means freely cross connecting the top drums, widely spaced planiform groups of radiant heat absorbing up tubes connecting said bottom drum and one of said top drums, closely space d'rows of convected heat absorbing down. tubes connecting the other top drum with said bottom drum, and a wall bafile separating the groups of up and down tubes into respectively up and down gas passages. I

3. The herein described upright ring-type water tube steam boiler, comprising a bottom drumin combination with parallel top drums, one lowerthan the other, means freel-y cross connecting the latter, widely spaced planiform groups of radiant heat absorbin up tubes connecting the bottom drum an the lower top drum, closely spaced rows of convected heat absorbing down tubes connecting the higher top drum with said'bottom drum, :1 baflle separating the widely and closely spaced groups of tubes into respec tively up'and down gas passages, a rate gaging drum' above the lower of the top drums and in free water connection with the top thereof and means placing the lower part of said gaging drum in more restricted communication with the lower part of the higher top drum and free steam interchange con- I nections between the tops of said rate gaging drum and said higher top drum.-

4. A steam generator, comprising a submerged head drum, in combination with a steam-and-water drum thereabove and in copious steam and water communication therewith but remote in the direction of gas flow, and a rate gauging drum above and in copious water connection with the top of said submerged drum and restricted water communication with said steam and water drum. i

5. A steam generator, comprising a bottom drum in combination with parallel top drums, one lower than the other, means freely cross connecting the latter, widely spaced plani'form groups of radiant heat absorbing up tubes connectingthe bottom drum and one said top drum, closely spaced convected heat absorbing down tubes connecting the other top drum with said bottom drum, a

bafile separating'the groups of up and down 1 tubes, a rate gauging drum above the lower of the top drums and in copious direct conncction with the top.thereof and having its lower part in more restricted water communication with the lower part of the upper one of said top drums and free steam interchange connections between the tops of said rate' gauging drum and the upper top' drum;

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature. c

CHARLES GILBERT HAWLEY.' 

